November 21, 1998 Vote
High School Approved by
Voters
by a vote of
3220 to 2158
The voter turnout was heavy with over 60% of voters turning out. Prospect voters declined the proposal with 1803 Yes votes and 1943 No votes, but the 1100 vote plurality of Yes votes in Beacon Falls was more than enough to ensure passage of the proposal. Construction will begin near the end of 1999, and the school is planned to open in September of 2001.
| High School Vote | ||
| Yes | No | |
| Prospect | 1803 | 1943 |
| Beacon Falls | 1417 | 315 |
| Total | 3220 | 2158 |
| Swimming Pool Vote | ||
| Yes | No | |
| Prospect | 1552 | 1830 |
| Beacon Falls | 1371 | 461 |
| Total | 2924 | 2291 |
Regional School District 16 - Proposed High School
Artist rendering of proposed school - Jeter, Cook, & Jepson, Architects
History
October 1998
The public hearing in Prospect was held on October 7, 1998.
Details from that hearing are available here.
| Proposed Region 16 High School Referendum November 21, 1998 |
|
September 1998
The Board of Education completed its work on the proposed high school. Public hearings and a tentative referendum date were as follows:
Public Hearing Scheduled:
Long River Middle School - 7 PM October 7, 1998
Laurel Ledge School - 7 PM October 14, 1998
Referendum Scheduled:
At the polls - 6AM - 8 PM Saturday November 21, 1998
August 26, 1998
The Region 16 Dissolution Committee finished its work, issuing its final report, detailing a plan of dissolution of the Region, which would split the Regional School System into two separate town districts in Prospect and Beacon Falls. The report recommended that the Region not dissolve. Click here for Details of the Region 16 Dissolution Process.
June 17,1998
The Board of Education appointed the new High School Building Committee, with 20 members, 10 from Prospect, and 10 from Beacon Falls. Tentatively, the referendum date for the latest High School Proposal will be Saturday, October 17, 1998.
May 16, 1998
The Board of Education has solicited applications for volunteers willing to work on the
High School Building Committee. If you have experience and expertise in construction,
business, real estate, technology, finance, curriculum, or athletic programs, and are
resident of either Prospect of Beacon Falls, send a letter to:
Region 16 Board of Education
207 New Haven Road
Prospect CT 06712
The High School Building Committee will be responsible for the oversight of the construction and development of the High School programs. A substantial time commitment is required, with night time meetings at least 3-4 times per month. If you have the time and wish to make a sizeable contibution to the education of Region 16 students, your efforts will be greatly appreciated. Please apply.
March 25, 1998
On March 25, 1998, the Board of Educucation had a public presentation of a comparative study between the Matthies site in Beacon Falls and the LoRusso site in Prospect. After the presentation the Board voted to proceed with the Matthies Site in Beacon Falls, on a 6-2 vote. From Prospect, Mrs. Zaleski and Mr. Pilat voted for the motion and Mrs. Delage, and Mrs. Marczewski voted against the motion. The following is the document presented by the Architect comparing the two sites.
Minutes of the March 25th meeting (<== Click to view) are available from our FTP site
| Region 16 High School Site Selection Meeting March 25, 1998 Presentation by Jeter, Cook & Jepson |
 |
1997 Action
In April, the High School Building Committee was recharged to look at other possible sites and bring a recommendation to the Board of Education. These results were presented at the August 20th Board of Education Meeting.
At that meeting, the High School Building Committee presented its recommendation of a site adjacent to Long River Middle School in Prospect, on 2 parcels of property owned by the Town of Prospect (23 acres) and the Tucillo Family (22 acres). The next step is for the Board of Education to charge the High School Building Committee to negotiate prices with the land owners and finalize the cost of the project. Following vote by the Town of Prospect to authorize sale of the property to Region 16, the way would be clear to bring the new site to Regional Referendum Vote (Prospect and Beacon Falls).
Following the April 1997 meeting, strong opposition by the town of Beacon Falls, including a lawsuit against the town of Prospect, and the Board of Education, progress was stalled.
The November elections of 1997 saw 4 new board members elected. On January 7, 1998, there was a joint meeting between the new Board of Education an the High School Building Committee, to discuss plans for how to proceed. Minutes for January 7, 1998 are available by clicking this link.
1996 Action
At the Board of Education meeting of October 23, 1996 about 150 residents attended, of whom 44 gave their opinions as to what the next Region 16 should do next to address the education of its students in grades 9-12. The following options were presented and explained by the Board of Education:
| 1. Dissolve High School Building Committee, do
nothing and go on as is. |
2. Recharge High School Building Committee:
|
3. Amend Regional Plan -- change from K-12 to K-8
--requires:
|
4. Dissolution
|
In spring, the town of Beacon Falls initiated the dissolution process.
October 15th, 1996
High
School Proposal Referendum
|
 |
The Region 16 High School proposal was defeated by a large margin. Voter turnout was heavy with better than 60% of voters voting on the proposal in both towns. Prospect voters voted 2647 to 1092 against the proposal, while Beacon Falls voted 1006 to 858 to approve the proposal.
